Rochester schools Superintendent Bolgen Vargas’s announcement last weekend that children who live within a half-mile of their neighborhood elementary school are guaranteed placement in that school — the “Home School Guarantee” — may have been misleading. The announcement comes with some conditions, and no new policy has been approved. | The district’s Parent Preference-Managed Choice […]
Bolgen Vargas
Posted inNews & Opinion
WEEK AHEAD: Tweet with the RPD, True North expansion, Cuomo and guns
Rochester Police Chief James Sheppard will hold the first in a series of Twitter town halls this week. Participants can offer comments or ask Sheppard a question on any issue of concern, including bullying, gun violence, and gangs. The first town hall is from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Tuesday, January 8. You must […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
The push for pre-K
When Latesha Green first walked through the door of School 22’s pre-kindergarten classroom, she seemed shy and unsure of herself, says teacher Mellissa Asenato. But now she’s an entirely different person, Asenato says. Green is reading at about a fourth-grade level and her writing skills have improved, too. But Latesha Green is not a pre-K […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
[UPDATED] Week ahead: Sibley COMIDA hearing, State funding awards, Vargas meeting, state Electoral College convenes
On Wednesday, December 19, the state will hold a ceremony to announce funding awards for the regional economic development councils. Details haven’t been announced, but the co-chairs of the Finger Lakes Regional Economic Development Council mentioned the event during the council’s meeting last week. And media reports say the event will be held Wednesday, and […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
RCSD budget talks begin
The Rochester school board will hear a presentation from Superintendent Bolgen Vargas’s financial team tomorrow night concerning amendments to the district’s 2012 to 2013 budget. The district approved a $705 million budget last spring. But the district’s revenue increased by about $21 million, mostly from grants. Some expenses increased, too, including a $2 million increase […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
Week Ahead: RCSD meetings, city violence forum, and county budget — with MCC vote
Rochester Mayor Tom Richards and Police Chief James Sheppard kick off a quartet of community forums on violence in the city. Rochester and cities across the country have experienced a significant uptick in violent crime this year, including homicides. Richards says the forums are a chance to hear from a broad spectrum of the community, […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
Vargas banks on longer school days
The Rochester school district is one of the first in the country selected to be part of a three-year pilot program to test whether lengthening the school day for some city students improves achievement. The program, TIME Collaborative, will allow Superintendent Bolgen Vargas to extend the lengthened school day programs already serving about 4,000 city […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
Week ahead: Truancy funding vote, Pittsford development discussion, Brooks’ budget plan, Vargas ‘conversations’
Rochester City Council will decide on Tuesday night whether it’s willing to chip in $15,000 for a new, cooperative truancy effort with the Rochester school district and the United Way. The measure faced a rough ride through Council’s Public Safety Committee last week — the last stop before a vote of the full Council. The […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
Mayor has to win over Council on truancy effort
There were a few oddly intimate moments during yesterday’s City Council committee meetings. Council has to decide whether it’s willing to chip in $15,000 for a new, cooperative truancy effort with the Rochester school district and the United Way. Mayor Tom Richards supports the program, but had a tough time convincing two of the three […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
Vargas should release report on building space tonight
Rochester schools Superintendent Bolgen Vargas is expected to release a draft of a new facilities master plan at a special board meeting tonight. Vargas called for the plan after numerous costly repairs required closing School 16. But the plan is also part of a larger concern. The district’s enrollment has steadily declined while its physical […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
Vargas plans community outreach
City schools Superintendent Bolgen Vargas will hold a community meeting from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Monday, November 5, at School 3, 85 Adams Street. The “Neighbor Night” will be similar in format to Vargas’s monthly “Coffee and Conversations.” He’ll answer questions from parents, students, and residents in an informal setting. The intent, according […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
Vargas resumes attendance battle
About 40 Rochester school district and city officials, including Mayor Tom Richards, fanned out in city neighborhoods this morning, searching for absentee students. In groups of two and three, they knocked on doors in search of about 120 students who have missed 10 to 20 days this school year, said Patricia Malgieri, the district’s chief […]
